A disposable body warmer has often been used as an article for warming a part of a human body. Moreover, a body warmer, or the like, is used by affixing it to a painful portion such as a joint to partially warm a human body. The body warmer is suitable for locally warming a small portion such as a hand, a foot or a waist. However, it cannot warm a human body as a whole.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-216157 discloses a packaging bag in which a plurality of air-permeable inner bags each containing an exothermic composition generating heat when contacted with oxygen in the air are collectively contained and that is excellent in airtightness. However, the patent publication only discloses that a plurality of exothermic articles each containing an exothermic composition are contained.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 7-59809 discloses a sheet-like exothermic article formed by making a support that is composed of a nonwoven fabric of a water-absorbing fiber hold an exothermic composition that generates heat when contacted with air. However, the sheet-like exothermic article is one prepared by making a support of a nonwoven fabric hold an exothermic composition in an amount of 500 to 10,000 g and thermocompressing the support to become flat, and is characterized in that an optionally shaped sheet is cut out of the exothermic article and used.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 7-112006 discloses a sticky exothermic article that includes a base sheet having on one side an adhesive applied to the base sheet and, on the other side, an exothermic container bag that is composed of an air-permeable wrapping material, and an exothermic agent that generates heat in the presence of air and that is contained in the exothermic container bag. Because the sticky exothermic article has an applied hot melt type adhesive, the article can be simply attached. However, the adhesive strength varies depending on the environmental temperature, and a problem, that the sticky exothermic article is hard to use at low environmental temperature, arises.
Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication (Kokai) No. 62-197955 discloses a warmth-retaining Japanese cushion. In the Utility Model Publication, an exothermic article inserted in a pocket on the warmth-retaining side is described. It is also described that the Japanese cushion side is an open-cell type cushioning material, and that the cushioning material is compactly vacuum packaged. However, an object of the utility model publication is to provide a Japanese cushion as a cushioning material and is not to provide a warmth-retaining cloth.